Charter school on SSUSD board agenda

The Sierra Sands Unified School District Board of Education has a big evening planned for Thursday with its regular scheduled meeting and two special meetings.

By Mike BodineSTAFF WRITERmbodine@ridgecrestca.com

The Sierra Sands Unified School District Board of Education has a big evening planned for Thursday with its regular scheduled meeting and two special meetings. One special meeting is a closed session concerning possible future litigation, the other will be on the Ridgecrest Charter School renewal petition.The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m. The agenda includes a presentation by Murray Middle School “Murray: Becoming a R.E.A.L. Mustang – Student Recognition a Key to Success.” PrincipalKirsti Smith will report on the Murray Middle School goal to create a culture of inclusion, and to support and celebrate academic achievement as well as personal and social achievements and to promote school pride.There will be an enrollment report and a distinguished schools recognition for Las Flores and Inyokern elementary schools. The enrollment numbers provided in the agenda show fluctuations of dozens of students in exodus from one school and higher enrollment numbers at other schools. The district has an open enrollment policy that allows students to transfer from one school to another, paticularly during the beginning of the school year.There will be the regular report from Desert Area Teachers Association, the teachers union.There will also be an approval of memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Cerro Coso Community College and Sierra Sands Unified School District regarding dual enrollment.There is also a planned approval of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Implementation Funding Plan. Common Core testing will take place entirely on computers requiring written and critically thought out responses to questions that were once answered by filling in a bubble on a Scantron with a No. 2 pencil. According to the agenda, the total estimated cost of one-time monies to help implement the technology side of the new tests was a little more than $1 million. The money helped the district purchase 1,305 Chromebooks for the Common Core testing. This meant one Chromebook computer to be shared by every four students in the district.On a related agenda item, the school is accepting a military-connected Local Education Agencies for Academic and Support Programs Grant for $1.9 million.Of that grant total, the district will be recommended to the approve the purchase of 692 Chromebooks and 47 charging carts at an estimated cost of $613,778.71 from the $892,850 allocated for equipment purchase. The agenda also includes expected approval of Early Retirement Notification Incentive for 2013-14. According to the agenda, “For several years, the District has offered an early retirement notification incentive. By offering this incentive and by early notification from employees, the district retains valuable information in determining staffing needs for the upcoming school year. This notification information provides valuable time for planning, advertisement, and scheduling of teacher recruitment fairs.” Special meetingsThere will also be a closed session meeting held at 6:30 p.m. Pursuant to code Code Section 54956.9(b), or anticipated litigation. This means the parties involved have been notified and a legal case is likely. “The board will meet in closed session with the superintendent to discuss negotiations with all three bargaining units,” the agenda stated. There will also be a special meeting concerning the Ridgecrest Charter School renewal petition. RCS is renewing its charter edition to operate as a school, a process the school is required to do every five years. Part of the process demands the charter school ask for sponsorship from the closest school district. The district is set to announce its decision on Wednesday. If the board decided not to sponsor the charter school, it must state in writing the reasons for not accepting its petition.